Class: Grade III to IV
Level: 22meg to 88meg depending on release
Wet season flooding can be 300megs+++
Gauge: BOM river gauge
Tully NP Gauge:1.27m = 88megs
Length: 8km
Time: 3 to 5 hours
Put in: point 16 or point 10
Take out: Camp grounds
Character: Pool drop, large boulder features and bed rock
Notes: You can get great pies at the Bakery in Tully. Thier not open Sundays though!!!
Camping:
Camping is available at the QPWS campgrounds at the take out. There is electric BBQ's, shelter's, toilets and showers. You will need to book online before going.
Bokkings online @ QPWS |
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The Tully River is one of Australia's premier white water rivers. It is a major rafting attraction to the region, with hundreds of rafting customers experiencing the thrills of white water every day.
The Tully is a Hydro release river, so every morning before 10am, on it comes.
It is regulated through 4 turbines, each producing 22 mega watts of electricity.
Generally, it runs at 44 or 88. At 88 it is an awesome river with some of the upper sections becoming very pushy. All the way up to the put in there are large numbers painted on the road getting to 16 at the put in. These are evacuation points for the rafting companies, but serve us well to direct people to different put ins as well.
Usually we break the river into 3 sections.
The Top. Which is from 16 to 10. This section is pretty much all grade IV.
The Middle. Which is from 10 down to 6. This section is primarily grade III
The Bottom. Which is from 6 down to 4. This section mostly grade III and III+ with a IV
The top has rapids like Alarm Clock, Theatre, Staircase, Wet n Moisty and Corkscrew. Expect to spend up to and hour getting from 16 to 10.
The Middle has Lave Fields, The Wier, Double D and Jabba that are grade III's. This section has all the flat water section as well and will take 1 - 1/2 hours
The Bottom has Flip Wilson, Shark's Tooth, Zig-Zag, Yanky's Pass and the beautiful mine field. From 6 to 4 will take around 1/2 an hour to 45mins.
Some times paddlers who are not confident enough to tackle all the top section might want to start at 11 or 12. 11 is above Wet n Moisty and 12 is the rafting companies lunch spot. From here you can paddle a couple of grade IV rapids before stepping up to the Top section. Beware though at 88 these 2 grade 4's are pretty pushy as well.
To get to Tully, drive South from Cairns for about 1 ½ hours. About 1km after Tully township turn off, there is a second set of traffic lights. Turn right here and follow the signs to the camp grounds. [number 4] Leave a car here and then keep on heading up the gorge to which ever put in you are up for. |
